No Remorse (17 page)

“I warn you, Khalid, we will take whatever action is necessary to bring the sword of justice down upon you. Be assured of
that
, brother.” Hakim turned on his heel and marched off, followed by Tariq, struggling to keep up with his brother’s long strides.

Khalid stormed to his vehicle, physically shaking at the confrontation. He was about to step into the sanctuary of the limousine when his father’s attorney, Muhammed Al-Saheed, appeared from among the group dispersing from the funeral.

“
Salaam alaykum,
Muhammed. I was about to call you.”

Al-Saheed was very short, with a wide nose and eyebrows so bushy that they seemed like they were from a clown’s dresser. They shook hands and touched noses three times, and Al-Saheed expressed his condolences. “May I ride with you? I need to speak with you privately. You can drop me back here after.”

Once they were underway, Al-Saheed handed him an envelope. “Inside is a key. Of course, you
should
receive one-sixth of your father’s estate, such as it is, but regrettably Saudi law prevents this.”

“As my brothers took great pleasure in reminding me.”

“But, of course, your father made plans to circumvent this. He said that you’d know what to do with the key. I know nothing of its purpose. Only that I was to give it to you privately after he died.” He smiled, but there was a look of melancholy on his face. “Your father had so many secrets, even from me, one of his closest friends. I shall sorely miss him. But it is Allah’s will.”

After they had dropped Al-Saheed at his car, Khalid asked Ibrahim to join him in the rear of the limousine. He held up the large metal key Al-Saheed had given him. Ibrahim shrugged.

“Ibrahim, we must move quickly to recover this cargo buried in the desert and get it to the safety of the fortress. I cannot go with you—I risk arrest every minute I remain here in the Kingdom. Take Masoud with you. I will go to Paris to see Jing-Ho. Our enemies will be watching, so I will tell you how we will confound them. And brother, you must tell me now what it is that is so special about this treasure.”

“What the hell happened to you?” Tally asked as Mac staggered past her to the bathroom. “Have you been drinking?”

Her sharp tone reverberated inside his skull. He’d downed a handful of codeine, but they hadn’t kicked in yet. “Don’t… shout.”

Whoever had slugged him were pros. His credit cards, passport and cash had not been taken. Only the camera’s memory card. They could have killed him, but for some reason chose not to.

“Are you okay?” she called through the bathroom door.

What was he going to tell her? Not that he especially cared what she thought, but it was a trifle embarrassing, especially after giving her a lecture on watching her back. How could he have had such a stupid lapse?

“I’m fine. Got mugged is all.” He came out with a damp towel around his neck. “Just need to lie down for a bit.”

She followed him into the bedroom. He flopped onto the bed and held the towel on his forehead. She sat and listened as he explained.

“You probably should go to get it checked out.” She leaned over and gently felt his skull. “Feels like a bit of a bump here.”

“I’ll be fine. That bump’s always been there.”

“Thick skull, I’d say. And I seem to recall
you
telling
me
to watch my back.”

“Your memory is faultless.”

She pulled a face. “Maybe the women’s bodyguards decided to send you a message?”

“No, they were with Ziad and the other women. Someone else must have been watching Sheriti, protecting her back.”

“Mmm. Maybe she doesn’t want Khalid to find out about some affair. He’s got an ego, according to your file. Probably a jealous type.”

“Or it could be that Sheriti’s not what she seems. Can you do some checking?”

“I’m not sure how relevant, but okay. You want to hear my news?”

“You’ve hacked your way in?”

She nodded. “Found a way through the buffer overflow. I’ve managed to create a username with administrator privileges. I can access any user on the
Princess Aliya
network. All I have to do now is wait until Khalid returns and logs in. Maybe Abu-Bakr himself will show.”

“You might check Ziad’s computer as well, if he’s the security guy.”

“I intend to. And the others on board. Also, Derek called. Montreal has completed the processing of Brazhlov’s funds. We did it! Derek sent his congrats and said we’ll each be paid $90,000 bonus, just on that job alone!”

Mac suddenly felt much better. With that sort of money, he could get Scotty involved again in the search for the girls. He needed to beef up the search. And fast, before the trail disappeared.

“Let’s just hope you haven’t blown our cover by stalking Sheriti.”

He held back the urge to bite. “Also, I put the bug on the stern rail. You can monitor the receiver while I rest.” He handed her the device, then lay back, closed his eyes, and was out in seconds.

Ziad practiced his smile as he looked at his reflection on the computer monitor. He was working alone in his cabin on the
Princess Aliya
while waiting for Sadiq to bring Bill Fanning to him. Time spent alone lessened the chances of one of the annoying migraines. He finished typing an abrupt email to The Frenchman reminding him that he was waiting for confirmation of the dates for the next shipment of young slaves. Emil was being more tardy than usual, and had failed to respond in the last few days. He needed to bring his supplier into line. He clicked the icon to send off the message. The laptop screen flickered for a second and then resumed processing the email.

In his reflection, Ziad saw the face of triumphant success for a boy who, when barely five years old, had been dumped by his mother at a Karachi
madrassa
. She had left him and become a street whore after her husband was beheaded for participating in the siege of the Holy Mosque in Mecca in 1979.

His father’s martyrdom was no excuse for his mother to abandon her young son, and at the madrassa he was treated badly by the mullahs and bullied by other boys because of his father’s “deviant” beliefs. They mocked his first name, Adnan. He worked hard to develop strength and street cunning, and eventually the bullying stopped. He was a brilliant student, and he was awarded a scholarship to study engineering at Karachi University.

But he didn’t forget. Or forgive.

Soon after he graduated, he returned to the madrassa and smashed the skull of the cruelest mullah, using a Y steel post. Then he tracked down the leader of the bullies and slashed his throat as the man lay in bed with his terrified wife. After he was done with the bully’s wife, Ziad went out and found his own neglectful mother on the streets and strangled her, smiling as he watched her startled eyes bugging out of her head as she died, fully understanding why.

That week was the birth of his new life. Now he used only his last name. Ziad was a strong name. His father’s name. And in the eleven years or so since Khalid had first engaged him to organize a half-ton shipment of Afghan heroin, he had become wealthy in his own right.

His laptop made a soft beep as another email arrived in his inbox. It was from Rockfire, his Al Qaeda contact. He smiled, and moved his mouse to open the email.

A knock at the door.

“Enter!” he called out in a buoyant tone, quickly folding his laptop closed. He had been looking forward to this meeting since they had arrived in Dubai. It was time to get rid of the Fanning problem.

Bill Fanning entered his cabin, followed in by Sadiq, his most trusted security man, who closed the door and locked it. Sadiq rubbed a thick scar that ran from his left eyebrow down his cheek, from having a glass being smashed in his face in a Marseilles bar. It had left him blind in one eye. But the other fellow had come off far worse.

“You wanted to see me, Ziad?” Fanning asked.

Good. He didn’t suspect anything. “Ah yes, Bill. I understand you have concerns about not being able to go ashore.” He kept his tone polite but cool.

“Well, I don’t see—”

He raised his hand and his lips curled in a smile. “I have exciting news, Bill! Mai is on her way here now, with little George. His Highness is looking forward to greeting them when he returns from the funeral. He has insisted on taking them for a celebratory cruise.”

Fanning’s face drained of color as he broke out in a sweat. The falseness of his awkward smile was evidence enough of his guilt. “That’s wonderful, Ziad. However, if you recall, Mai doesn’t like boats. Perhaps His Highness would allow me to treat us to a few days at the Burj Al Arab?”

Ziad decided to play along. It amused him to watch Fanning squirm, just as he would soon enjoy watching the man beg for mercy as his wife was tortured in front of his eyes. “Perhaps that can be arranged, Bill. But regardless, His Highness wishes to speak with her. When she arrives, Sadiq will inform you.”

“But I’ve told you already, my wife knows nothing about the project.”

“Was I suggesting that she did, Bill?”

“Well, no, but—”

“As I recall, your contract requires that you keep no copies of any codes, plans or keys. Assuming you’ve sent nothing to your wife, neither of you has anything to fear, Bill. But I have no intention of playing games. You have contractual obligations and I intend to see them adhered to. So if you haven’t given us full disclosure, now is your last chance to do so without penalties. And let’s be absolutely clear, there
will
be penalties. Your wife and son are our guarantee that you will provide full disclosure.”

Fanning swallowed. The threat was clear now. He glanced at the door, as though considering whether to make a run for it. Sadiq crossed his arms like a nightclub bouncer spoiling for a fight.

“I have nothing to disclose,” Fanning said, on the offensive. “I’ve complied with your confidentiality requirements. I must say I’m deeply offended by these insinuations. Deeply offended! I’ll have something to say to His Highness on this matter when—”

Ziad felt a sudden spike of pain inside his head and could no longer contain himself at the man’s blustering arrogance. He leapt from his chair and rammed Fanning against the wall. “You fool! We have Sergei monitoring our computers. Do you not understand what a keylogger is?” His nose was almost touching Fanning’s. “We’ve decrypted every email you’ve sent to your Dubai office in the last six months. It makes very interesting reading. But of course, you haven’t always been on board, so there may be gaps in our knowledge. You—and Mai—will fill in those gaps, and return the copies of plans you’ve stolen.”

Fanning’s face was ashen. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

This infuriated Ziad even more. He punched Fanning hard in the gut and the engineer crumpled to his knees, dry retching, and curled up on the floor. Ziad stood over him, resisting the urge to kick the fool in the face. “There’s no point in pretending any longer, Bill. It’s not only
your
life, but your wife and son’s lives that are now at stake.”

“Believe me, Ziad. I…I had no intention of breaching confidentiality. All I’ve done is to keep a plan so that I can help you access the cavern should something go wrong. Please understand. It’s for your own benefit!”

Ziad sucked air in deeply and closed his eyes as he ran his hand along the top of the sofa, calmed by the feel of the soft leather. The thumping pain receded. He had to be careful now. He must give Fanning a glimmer of hope. He opened his eyes and smiled. “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. But Bill, we don’t require you to second-guess our ability to access the fortress. I am a qualified engineer, as you know. I want
all
the plans, codes, and duplicate keys you have. I know you’ll keep the fortress secret, for your family’s sake. We can find you anywhere on this earth that you try to hide. Understand?”

“Yes, yes…” Fanning said, slowly sitting up. He was trembling so badly his words came out in clipped phrases in a hoarse, quivering voice. “I’ll return
everything…
In return for… your promise to let us go. You’ll need me…”

The arrogance of the British!
Unknown to Fanning, Ziad had recruited two engineers from Egypt to maintain the facility. “You are in no position to bargain, Bill. But certainly, we value your services. I give you my word before Allah that we will let you and your family go once we have everything in our hands.
Everything
. You will take us now to collect them. Then I will arrange for a suite at the Arabian Castles Hotel. It has better facilities for children than the Burj Al Arab. And there will be no cruise.”

“Thank you,” Fanning groaned as Sadiq helped him to his feet.

Ziad smiled, and felt a warm satisfaction inside. Now, with Mai in their custody and Fanning giving them back what he’d stolen, he could dispose of the last remaining threat.

How would they stage it, he considered? How long would Mai last? And after he and his men took their pleasure with her again and again as Bill watched helplessly, he would enjoy watching their faces as he threw their son overboard. Oh yes, they would give him
anything
in return for a quick death.

Outside Ziad’s cabin, in the late afternoon shadows, Sheriti shivered as the misty breeze brushed against her skin like a ghost. She slipped away, making no sound on the timber deck. She hadn’t heard all of it, but she’d heard enough. She hurried off the vessel and jogged along the marina seawall towards the restaurant at the end.

She smiled at a group of tourists and glanced at the cell phone vibrating in her hand. Her galloping heart quickened further at the
Blocked
showing on Caller ID. Khalid and Ziad both blocked their numbers, so she answered benignly: “May your day be beautiful, praise Allah.”

“And yours. This is Aunt Miki. Have I called at a good time, my dear?”

Sheriti smiled. It was the call she was expecting. She walked out of earshot of the tourists and responded with the appropriate phrase. “Yes, Auntie M. I trust that you’re well,
inshallah
.”